HKTDC Electronics Fair: The 7 Cool Tech Products We Saw

Last week, the eeco team attended the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) Electronics Fair in Wan Chai. It’s an excellent place to see what new tech products are coming to the market. In 2016, over 62,000 people attended the fair and over 2,800 exhibitors were present. There was no shortage this year, either.

With that being a quick introduction, this blog post will cover a few products the eeco team thinks are cool. At the HKTDC Electronics Fair, technological innovation was lacking, but design made up for it. Products such as Bluetooth speakers shrunk in size and other products adopted premium materials such as aluminum and steel. A few products showcased their tasteful artistic designs.

Bluetooth Speakers

One of the coolest Bluetooth speakers we saw are made by a company called Villo. They immediately caught our attention by their colorfully designed speaker covers. The covers are interchangeable; so, if you’re not feeling the all-black cover, switch it for a colorful mosaic or one that resembles fire. Villo’s unique design creates an almost surround-sound experience with its multi-directional speakers. Up to 10 Villo speakers can be connected for audio throughout the house.

At a glance, EWA’s Bluetooth speakers are nothing special. But hold them, lift them and don’t drop them, because they’re heavy. Made of brushed steel, one speaker as big as the palm of your hand weighs over a whopping 500 grams. The use of steel makes these speakers feel durable and keeps them sturdy on any surface. The sound quality is surprisingly good for compact speakers, especially from the mini ones.

Wall Adapters

PowerCube by Allocacoc is a wall plug that supports multiple inputs. Each PowerCube comes with a master switch built-in that shuts off power. The company’s design is a common theme (modular cubes), but each version has a different twist. PowerCube Remote comes with a battery-free remote. A nice feature of the Remote is that it can connect to multiple PowerCubes; one switch turns on/off all the cubes in your apartment.

Smart Home

Imagine a television that replaces your bathroom mirror. Wake up in the morning and get ready to brush your teeth. As you look up, alongside your reflection you see the day’s weather and tasks. Once connected with Alexa or HomeKit, use voice commands to play music, check emails or secure your home. Running on Android, the home screen of smart mirrors can be arranged to your liking. As television screens become thinner and lighter, smart mirrors may one day replace standard mirrors in your home.

Orvibo is a company specializing in Smart Home products. Formats like Amazon Echo and Apple HomeKit are supported by Orvibo products to control doorbells, cameras, curtains and overall home security. Orvibo’s light switches are a cool product. Made of a glass-like material, the switch turns on/off with a touch of the finger. There’s nothing to press; a light-touch does the magic.

Mobile Accessory

PIECE is a cool phone accessory. It’s half the size of an iPhone 5s, and doubles as a second SIM card slot. Simply insert a SIM card into the device, connect it to your phone via Bluetooth and voila, your phone now has dual-SIM capability. Unfortunately, it only supports 2G, so data capability is out; only phone calls and text messages are supported. The material build isn’t the best, as the shell felt flimsy. PIECE comes with a dedicated “selfie-button” to take pictures on your phone and has an alarm to locate your phone if the two are separated. The built-in 550mAh battery provides four hours of talk-time.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of these seven products? Do you think they’re cool enough for you to buy/use in your own home? Have you seen products that are way, way, way cooler? Let us know in the comments below!